


Always Together

by SkarlettSkwrl



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 00:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28554267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkarlettSkwrl/pseuds/SkarlettSkwrl
Summary: Jazz and Danny Fenton have always been close. But what happens when he climbs into the portal, and she is present? Rated for T.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	1. Where it all began

It had been a day at school, and Jazz and I had decided to hit up the Nasty Burger the local food joint that was pretty much was the local teen hangout. We mainly met up there to study, get dinner, or both. I walk in and over to our usual booth and wait for Jazz. Which surprised me because she is usually waiting for me given that she already has a car, a sleek red convertible. And thus, always arrives a little before I do. And I begin pulling out my math sets from today, consisting of 3 sets across 5 pages. We are currently in what our teacher calls "Unit 0" which is basically a review from grade 8 and is going to last a week and a half, it is gonna have a test at the end mainly so the teacher can make adjustments based on where people are struggling or so she said.

Anyway, I am halfway done with my first set when Jazz finally pulls up. She is in her usual black fitted long-sleeved shirt paired with a pair of blue (almost cyan) jeans and black flats. Her hair is ginger, straight, and ends halfway down her back with a cyan blue headband. Her eyes are a deep turquoise. Her skin is pale but not sickly. I begin to wave at her as she approached; she smiled and quickens her pace. She sits down across from me in our booth and begins pulling out her homework, probably being quite a lot tougher than mine as she is a junior and I'm a freshman.

"Hey Jazz what took ya?" I asked her.

She replied with "I decided to take extra hours tutoring starting this semester" I frowned a bit at this as I am going to see her less and we had and will always be pretty close. She's been taking odd jobs around for as long as I can remember. She did this to help pay for food in the house and clothes on our backs. As much as our parents love us, we can't help but feel they loved their research more than us. And by a pretty large margin at times. Sometimes they are downright neglectful which kinda hurts to say. Often, when they are into the flow of work on an invention or research we won't see them for days at a time. This is probably why I'm so close with Jazz. That, and our parents' career choice had alienated us from the rest of the town and our respective peer groups by consequence. She was always teaching herself important life skills so she could intern and teach me. I often see her as more of a parent than a sister in that regard.

"So how was your day at school today?" She asks with a hint of concern.

"Slow mostly, classes aren't really kicking off yet with the first week and all," I said as a matter-a-fact-like. She frowned a bit as she can tell am holding back but decided not to press. The bit I wasn't going to tell her that I was shoved and locked in my locker as I was getting my geography textbook and binder by none other than Dash Baxter. Which then in turn made me 37 minutes late for said class when I was let out by the janitor and lost a perfectly good lock in the process (AN: Gosh that used to happen to me in grade school and it sucked and was a bit scary. I was kinda the 'strange kid' throughout school and it, unfortunately, followed me to post-secondary) She asks me "Danny are you doing ok on your math?". And I reply with "It's mostly stuff from last year so far, which you did a pretty good job at explaining as always." And said with a bit of a grin.

"Well then, while you finish that. I'm gonna pull out my question on 1984. Do the readings." Leaving 'ask for help if you get stuck' unsaid and takes on a serious face as she begins to read.

I have no issues completing my math and move onto my English work concerning To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Whereas, Jazz begins her physics work and man did question looks strange to me, making me very glad I am only in Gr 9 math. And after about 45 minutes pass,

"Hey Jazz what have you got left? Because I got 3 more reading questions." I ask about getting a bit of hunger making my stomach growl. She giggles at this and answers with "Just the 5 physics questions. Why don't you go order our supper after you get those last three done?" She replied still in the middle of her 8th to last problem. I hurry to finish the questions which takes about sevenish minutes. Then I proceed to put my binders, textbook, and English book back in my school bag. Jazz then hands me 12 bucks for both our meals. And I walk over to the cash and internally groan a little when I see the length of the line. There are about twenty-five people ahead of me. 'Damn that early Friday evening rush!' I internally exclaim. I wait in line for the next sixteen minutes. I finally get to the cash the cashier asks in his usual squeaky and nasally voice, also with a slight lisp due to headgear? I thinking that was a thing of the past. It perplexes me a bit.

"How may I take your order?" He asks me.

"2 Nasty teen burger combos please" He punches it in and rings me up with 11.50 and I hand him the 12 bucks and he asks

"Would you like a receipt?"

I reply with a simple "sure." Then I advance in the 'waiting for food line' and do another 8 minutes of waiting before I get our food.

I then walk back over to Jazz, who had already her homework and is waiting for me. I start unwrapping my burger and take a few bits. Then, Jazz adopts a look of concern on her face. I realize now that she is going to press what didn't earlier.

"Hey Danny, did something happen at school today?" And I was right. I know that I should have told her initially but I was determined to prove that I can handle myself, not only that, but I was a little embarrassed. And with a little more nonverbal prodding on her part, I tell her what went down with the day.

"Danny you really have to tell someone about that boy or stand up to him to discourage this behavior." Jazz states in a serious but caring tone. I sigh with a bit of an eye roll.

"For one waaay stronger than me. And for two he's an A-lister and quarterback giving him immunity to punishment by the principle and like most if not of the teachers who get a slice of the sports pie, making any attempts to report him futile." I deadpan, then add "It's pretty damn backward that the people the A-list bully are the ones that get in trouble. Being locked in lockers/closets and being late for classes getting reprimanded by teachers. Or, how they force the nerds to their homework and assignments for them. It's absolutely disgusting!" I am fuming by this point. Jazz simply nods and listens as I continue to rant and we finish eating our fast food supper. We get up to leave, clear our trays in the trash. We both wash our hands and we leave the establishment.

As we are getting into Jazz's car she asks me "Do you want to go to Staples to get a new lock?"

"Sure, why not?" Staples is about a five-minute drive from Nasty Burger. She pulls up and parks close as she can to the store entrance. We get out and enter the store and head for the school supplies aisle. Luckily it's still early enough in the semester that the back-to-school sales are still active. I pick out a pack of 4 master direction locks for 12 bucks, and with that, we head, and with that we head to the cash and out of the store.

We get back in Jazz's car and head home. Which is a 7 min drive from staples. Now our house is quite unmistakable with its huge UFO looking structure on its roof and the bright neon sign reading 'FentonWorks' with an arrow pointing to our front door. Jazz pulls up on our driveway and we enter and head up to our rooms on the second floor.

My room has a pretty standard twin bed, blue walls, desk with a desktop computer. The walls are littered with NASA posters and on my ceiling, those kiddy five points glow in the dark stars with a few planets mixed in. I have a dream to become an astronaut or at the very least work for NASA. I set my bag down by my computer desk and grab the directional locks and start trying to pry the packaging open. Then get scissors because this is getting ridiculous. I finally open the packaging. Picking the black and white one out of the pack I set to read the instructions set the lock 'up up up left down right down' and practice it a few times and once I get it down pat, I place it in my bag and boot up my computer and pull up an article on the Andromeda Galaxy. I'm not even halfway through the article when I hear my dad's booming voice.

"Jazz, Danny, come down to the lab right away!". This is the first time I've heard from either of my parents in days. They've been engrossed in some new portal invention as far as I can tell.

I head down where I meet my sister. We both give each an eye roll. And climb the stairs down to the lab.

Both my parents are standing in front of a massive hole in the wall. Almost shaking with excitement grinning ear to ear. My parents are an odd pair. My dad Jack Fenton, in his usual bright orange day-glow hazmat suit with a black rubber collar, gloves, and boot. He also has a hood with orange goggles that is easy to tuck into the collar which is how he usually wears it but not right now hiding his midnight blue eyes and greying hair. My Mom Maddie Fenton was in her complimentary blue hazmat suit, with a black rubber collar, gloves, and boots. Like my dad's hood, hers can also be tucked away into the collar but unlike my dad, she had red goggles and usually wears it up. Hiding her auburn hair and purple eyes. Both my parents are ghost hunters/researchers. They both have an intense hatred of ghosts but at the same token are completely fascinated by them.

"Kids go grab your hazmat suits, so we can begin," mom instructs. Jazz and I head over to the far wall where all the spare hazmat suits are. I grab my hazmat suit which is white with a black rubber collar, gloves, and boots, and head into the lab washroom. Take off my usual clothes which consist of a white t-shirt with a red-ringed collar and sleeves, and a red oval on the chest, a baggy slightly worn pair of blue jeans, And white and red converse. Once I had zip it up, I notice a super cringy sticker of my dad's grinning face and rip it off. I hope he won't get insulted. I exit the washroom and Jazz enters. A moment or two later she emerges with her hazmat suit which is lime green with the same collar, gloves, boots, and hood the same as me, but her goggles are blue and mine, black. We all pull up our hoods and goggles. Jazz asks in slight disinterest "What's this one supposed to do?"

And dad gave a booming reply of "This baby's gonna bust open a hole into the ghost dimension! Jazzypants!" I'll admit this invention is starting to intrigue me. Dad then grabs two fat cables, one going to the portal and the other the wall.

Simultaneously as he connects them he shouts "Bonzai!" And a visible spark runs up the cables, halfway to the portal, and fizzles out.

"I don't understand, we check over the calculations and the schematics several times over" dad said in disbelief. Mom walks over to dad and puts her hand on his shoulder.

"Jack, why don't we take a long walk together and grab some triple chocolate fudge as well. And come back to this tomorrow." Dad smiles a bit at the fudge but not with the same enthusiasm as he usually would. Both our parents exit the lab and head out. We pull back our hoods.

"Man, Jazz, I've never seen them that crush before." Jazz rolled her eye.

"You and I both know that portal was never going to work because ghosts and the paranormal are fiction." I just sigh in response, then she adds

"they'll get over it eventually and hopefully they will finally give up on this nonsense" she puts her fists in the air as she finishes.

"I'm heading back upstairs" and with that, she changes back into her normal clothes and leaves.

A few moments pass and I'm lost in thought 'maybe they just missed a wire, a switch or something.' 'It would be pretty cold to explore step foot in a whole new dimension' and with that mind is made up. I walk over to the portal and climb inside. Just as jazz comes down I'm already at the end of the portal.

"Hey, Danny, have you seen my phone? Danny you still down here?" She calls.

"No I haven't, have you checked the washroom? I'm in the portal." I answer.

Jazz responds with "Danny what are you thinking! Get out of there now!" I hear the worry in her voice and head back out. But as I do, I trip on a bundle of wires. To stop myself from face planting, I shoot my hand out and it catches on a panel. I hear a 'click' and remove my hand to reveal to buttons; On and Off, the on button is pushed in. I hear the whine of electricity. And turn to run, but it is ready too late. There is a sudden bright green, blinding light that engulfs me. And with it unimaginable searing white-hot pain. I feel as though every nerve and cell in my body is being torn apart and reforming. I hear a deafening blood-curdling scream and I slowly realize that's me screaming. 'Am I dying?' The pain starts to subside a bit as I hear a woman calling, no screaming my name it's so familiar but I can't quite place it. It's so far away, I want to get closer. But I'm so tired, my limbs feel lead. I remember whose voice it is now. It's Jazz. I tumble out of the portal and the world fades the black.


	2. Something else...

I'm not sure where I am. It's completely dark. A comforting, quiet black void. I have no sensation. I seem to float here for what feels like an eternity. Then slowly there is a hum, a vibrating. I start to float towards it. Slowly but surely, I start to see a light. As I get closer I see a bright blue orb, which seems to be where the hum originates. Not too far right of the orb, there is a white flame, omitting weak crackles and embers. From the orb, I can feel cold energies radiating out. It's freezing but I don' t feel any discomfort. And the odd white flame is warm but not hot as would be expected from a flame. It was more of a heat akin to body heat. I reach to touch either one when suddenly they both fade away. And start to hear a distant sobbing. I feel a dull ache across my body, and it slowly increases. This soon gives way to an ear-splitting migraine. I realize that I' m waking up. I don' t want to wake up, I want to stay here in the senseless void. But, It' s unavoidable now. I groan softly and crack one eye open. And there's Jazz over me bawling her eyes out. This confuses me.

" J-J-Jaz z wha t' s wron g?" I sputtered out. Why does my throat feel like it has razors in it? She shoots up from laying on me, and looks at me with a look of joy, surprise, relief … fear, and doubt?

"Danny?" She asks almost if she's unsure it's me.

"W W Who el se wou ld I be?" I ask as I begin to sit up, struggling because my limbs feel heavy, tired, and very sore. She hugs me tight and sobs into my shoulder.

"I thought I'd lost you." Now I'm really confused.

"J-Jazz, wh a t happ ene d?" Her jaw drops a bit and then she gives me a very perplexed look.

"You don't ... remember?" She asks and I shake my head.

"You climbed into the portal,... and and must have hit something because it ... quickly roared to life ... Your screams they ... were ... awful. I ran over to try and unplug it but ... was knocked back. Th-There was nothing I could do but watch and … wait for the inevitable. But then I heard your screams stopped and I thought you were gone. A moment later you stumbled out of the portal and ... collapsed. I-I wasn't sure it was you at first as you look pretty ... different. I threw most of my doubt away and ran over to you. I turned you over and put my head to your chest. I couldn't hear your breathing or feel a pulse. I thought you were dead!" She tries to explain but is hiccuping from cry so hard.

It's starting to come back now. Mom and dad being really depressed over the portal not working. Me being stupid thinking I was able to find the issue. Jazz come back down forgetting her phone, finding me the portal. Her telling me to get out. Me tripping on the way out and accidentally hitting the on button. Why the fuck was that on the INSIDE of the portal?! … dad. And the horrible pain. Wait did she just say no pulse or heartbeat? I concentrate and to my own horror, I can't feel the steady beat of my heart or the rhythm of my breathing. A deep sense of dread sets. Am I really dead? Did the fucking portal kill me?! I fall to my knees shaking. Jazz comes down to my level and starts to hug me. When she does she looses her balance falls through me? We both look at each other really bewildered. Wait she said I look different.

"J-J-Jazz, Y ou sai d I loo ked diffe rent?" Damn these throat razors! She doesn't respond. She simply grabs my hand and pulls me to the mirror on the side of the lab. The boy in the mirror is not one I recognize. My hazmat colors are inverted. Where was once white fabric is now a deep black. Where was once black rubber is now white. My skin is now more tan as before it was pale. My usual messy raven black hair is now a snowy white. My whole body has an unearthly white glow around it. But what is most unnerving is my eyes they look empty, have no spark of life within them. They are an unnatural green and glowing brightly. Not like when I was human they were a deep sky blue. Because Now I don't think I am anymore. I'm something else. Something dead. I'm a ghost.

"Jazz, I think I'm a ghost." At least my throat feels better. Also now noticing I'm floating six inches off the ground.

"Danny, ghosts aren't real. I think you've been listening to mom and dad way too much." I blink. Really? I love my sister. But man is stubborn, and she does not like to be wrong. Even when the proof' s right in front of her. I have no breath, no heartbeat, floating 6 inches off the ground. I' m dead, what more proof does she need. Well, when the denial breaks and it does finally set in she' ll probably go into that loop that she usually does. Where she' ll start second-guessing about every single thing. Then the front door opens and it breaks my thoughts. Fuck mom and dad are home! I turn to my sister with widened eyes. She returns the same oh-we' re-soo-fucked look.

"Shit! What I'm I gonna do Jazz?! I can't let them see me like this!" The lights start flickering and I see Jazz shiver.

"We've gotta tell them." Is she fucking crazy?!

"Are you fucking crazy?! Jazz, you know how they are about ghosts! It won' t matter if I'm their son or not. Mom' s gonna want to know how I work and figure it out in the most inhumane ways possible! And dad' s just gonna want to just straight out obliterate me! I'm a ghost Jazz that' s what they do!" I exclaim in a hushed shout, while a nearby pot light shatters.

"Danny, first off, you're not a ghost. And don' t you think you' re overreacting?" She is trying to calm me down but is only amping up my frustration and panic.

"Jazz! I. AM. DEAD. And no, I don' t. Their careers are their whole damn life!" Man, I wish I were still human and didn't go through that fucking portal. Jazz is about to rebuttal but stops and looks at my waist, I look down too. There is a blinding bright neon blue spark growing from within it. The spark quickly grows into a halo and from there splits in two. One scans down to my feet. Whereas, the other travels up to my head, and they both vanish.

"Looks like it was temporary." She sighs with relief then blushes. Wait! I can feel my heartbeat and breath again! Does that mean … ? I quickly turn to the mirror and am met with a very human looking Danny Fenton. I smile and laugh. I'm so relieved. Then my face turns red as a beet when I realize why my sister blushed. I was in nothing but my boxers. I ran into the washroom and got changed into my usual clothes I had left in there prior to changing into my hazmat suit which was now missing.

"Hey Jazz, I found your phone!" told her running out and hand it to her. She and I both thought we had enough of the lab for one day and proceed to head up the stairs. I'm still a little shaky, but I manage ok. Jazz heads upstairs to her room and I head into the kitchen to see how my parents are doing.

Mom is sitting next to my Dad who is eating fudge, while mom is rubbing his shoulder both mooping. There is no way in hell that I' m telling them what actually happened. But I still kinda want to cheer them up.

"Jack, I' m sure it's something small that we missed." Mom comforts dad. Yeah! like the fucking ON button being on the inside of the portal rather than the outside. I approach and start rubbing the back of my neck. My nervous habit.

"Hey mom?" Mom is lost in thought, and dad is too engrossed in his fudge. I walk over to dad to tap his shoulder a bit hard. He doesn't notice either. I'm getting annoyed now. I just want to give them some good news. The kitchen lights flicker. Dad shoots up. Really he notices that?!

"Ghost!" he shouts. This catches mom's attention too. They both look around the room for the ghost for a good long few seconds; when they take notice of me.

"Hey dad about the portal…" I start but trail off thinking of how to word it.

"Don't you worry Danno, we'll get the Fenton Ghost Portal working in no time. Fentons never give up!" I roll my eyes. Wow, his mood changed real quick. I start rubbing the back of my neck again.

"I think … it was a delayed reaction?" I kinda said as a question I'm unsure why.

"What delayed reaction?" My mom inquires.

"The portal… it roared to life about for like about … fifteenish minutes after you guys left." I wince a bit remembering the pain and my parents grab a shit-eating-grin on each other's faces and both sprint full tilt down to the lab. I hear the door lock and know I won't be seeing them for days at least. I smile and head upstairs to bed. Do my evening routine and pass out before I hit the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not too sure if anyone was too OOC especially Jazz. I was also trying to prove Danny' s point to Jazz in the kitchen scene. I really need to focus on other things but I'm enjoying writing this too much.


	3. Rough Weekend

The rays of light are now filling up my room, I begin to stir. I groan. My limbs still feel stiff from the events of yesterday and this light isn’t helping my migraine any. To make matters worse my alarm goes off. I sit up a bit to reach over and snooze the damn thing and … I bonk my head? I open my eyes and lay back down. The ceiling? Why is it so close? I look over to where my alarm clock should be and just see the top portion of my wall? I roll over and see that in fact I’m five feet above my bed and floating on my stomach. I panic. Just as I do I hear harsh footsteps approaching my door! Fuck what if it’s mom or dad? Fuck! They knock on my door. My heart stops.

“Danny can you please turn off your alarm?” It’s only Jazz. Come to think about it, our parents are probably still in the lab and likely have been there all night.

“I … can’t” I sigh.

“What do you mean you can’t?” Jazz asks as she turns the knob. She comes in and shivers. She walks over to my alarm and dismisses it. Jazz looks all around the room … except up.

“Danny, Where are you?” I smile weakly at her.

“I’m up here Jazz.” She looks up at me floating there awkwardly. She begins muttering to herself under her breath, things I can’t quite hear because I’m too high up. I’ve always wanted to experience zero gravity just not like this!

“Just … wait there... I’ll be back.” She departs. I feel my panic on the rise again. What if I just float here like a human helium balloon forever? What if the ceiling disappears, will I just keep floating up indefinitely? Is Jazz going to rat me out to mom and dad? Shit! Shit! Shit !… Only Jazz comes back, With a long broom and some rope. I feel a great sense of easement.

“Here grab on.” She tells me as she is handing me the end of the broom. I grab on and she pulls me down. She then ties my leg to the corner of my footboard and gently pushes me, so I’m sitting on the end of my bed. Jazz joins and wraps her arm around me. Thankfully this stops me from floating back up to my ceiling.

“Ya’know, you weigh less than a chicken feather right now ?” Jazz makes a bit of a goofy face and I chuckle. I feel a portion of my anxiety melt away.

“Danny how did you get up there and how long have you been there?”

“I don’t know Jazz, I think I floated up there in my sleep. So probably a while, though I’m not too sure. Thanks for getting me down though” I smile. Suddenly ,I feel my body recall: ‘hey I just remembered gravity exists’ as I sink into my bed slightly.  
“Hey Jazz, I think my body just reaccepted gravity.” Jazz slowly took her arm off me. I stay put. She unties my leg from the bed. I stay put. We both sigh with relief and laugh.  
“How about I make us my blueberry pancakes?” I nod and grin ear to ear. Jazz’s blueberry pancakes are the best! We both exit my room and begin to head down. Out of nowhere my foot gets this weird tingly feeling and it doesn’t hit the next step instead it goes through it. I completely lose my balance and tumble down the rest of the stairs, past Jazz and, end up face planting at the bottom. She rushes down right after me.  
“Danny are you ok?!” I’m still dizzlely getting up but collapse as I try to use my foot again.

“I think so” I stare at the offender. My foot is a translucent blue. I experimentally try to touch my foot but my hand just goes straight through. Jazz helps me to my one tangible foot, and we both head to the kitchen. Jazz helps me sit down at the kitchen table. As that weird feeling in my foot dissipates, giving me some reprieve. Jazz starts taking out the ingredients for the pancake batter. She then starts mixing the dry ingredients.

“Hey Jazz, can I help you mix the wet ingredients?” She glances over with a gentle look of concern paired with a weak smile.

"No, I'm fine, thanks. You just sit tight. Breakfast will be ready in about ten to fifteen." I grumble a bit but understand, as weird shit has been happening with me since I woke up, and I honestly doubt it's over. I just pull out my phone and find an article on the Arecibo radio telescope, collapsing due to cable failures. Wow! What a shame! Just as I finish the last column Jazz sets our plates. I grab the syrup and pour some on. Jazz grins at this.

“Hey Danny, want some pancakes with that syrup?” I laugh.

“What can I say? I like ‘em sweet.” We both start carving into our pancakes. My hand abruptly gets that same tingle my foot had, and I drop my fork. My hand just passes through the fork and part of the table. I just give up and use my other hand, despite it being a bit more awkward. Jazz looks over to me.

"Danny, I thought you were left-handed."

"I am! I just can't seem to get a hold of it with my left hand, is all." I pass my still translucent blue hand through the table and wiggle my fingers. Jazz gasps, then mutters something under her breath. There is an awkward silence for the remainder of breakfast—neither of us wanting to talk about the incident. I take my plate to the sink.

“I’m gonna head upstairs and maybe read some comics or something.” With that, Jazz takes our plates to the sink, rinses them off, and puts them in the dishwasher as I depart.

I lay on my bed. I can't help this feeling that my body doesn't feel right. It feels wrong, like it isn't mine. I stare at my arms but can't help but think that they're not connected to me. I really don't know what's going on with me today. I need to take my mind off it for a while and decide to pull out several Hellblazer issues I hadn't had the chance to read. I just really need something to do. I am about halfway through my issue when Jazz peeks into my room. I am still deep into this issue, so I briefly look up and wave at her. She doesn't reply and looks around, grumbles then leaves, and I go back to my issues. I finish the issues I pulled out and realize I've been reading issues for most of the day. Just as I'm getting up to go grab the next issues because I'm really enjoying this current arc; Jazz knocks on my door and enters. I don't know how to describe it, but she has a strange blue-violet shimmer with hints of green about her. It kinda feels like … fear? And a few other things, it's too murky to discern though.

“Danny are you in here?” She asks looking around.  
“I’m right here where I’ve been all day.” I gesture to the comic stack on my bed. “Reading comics” She begins pacing around my room, panic written all over her face. All the while not even looking at me! This is starting to freak me out. “This isn’t funny Jazz!” I get up and firmly grab her arm. She yelps in surprise? “I’m right here Jazz!”   
“Danny?” She asks meekly.  
“Who else would it … “ I trail off as I look down at her arms. I only see her arms. I see the imprint where my hands should be. I can feel them still firmly holding her arms. But mine are just gone. I yelp. I start to breathe heavy, and start to panic.   
"You really can't see me, can you?" she slowly shakes her head. She says nothing; she just wraps her arms around me (kinda awkwardly as I'm invisible). I return her hug. She rubs circles on my back. This helps ease the panic. I look down at my arm still wrapped around her back. They are slowly starting to appear back to visibility. I can see myself again! I have to make sure.

“Can you see me now?” Jazz lets go of me. She just nods, and that weird blue-violet light begins to die down as weak yellow and green lights start to swell. What are these lights, though? They kinda look like an aura and feel like emotions. Jazz and I should probably talk.

“Hey Jazz maybe w… “ I’m cut off by a timer.

"The meatloaf!" With that, Jazz rushes out of my room, and I follow her down. We are about halfway down the hall when I go all weightless again and start floating upward. Crap!  
"Um, Jazz!" She quickly turns around and jumps up, grabbing my ankle and pulls me down the remainder of the hall and down the stairs. I feel like a child's birthday balloon!

When we get to the kitchen, Jazz fastens me to the table with the same rope from earlier to stop me from floating away (apparently she had it in her pockets all day). She then proceeds to grab oven mitts and takes out the meatloaf. She makes four plates, one for eof us and one for mom and dad. She takes ours over to the table and sits down across from me. Maybe now I can bring up the weird happenings. 

"Jazz, can we talk about all … "I trail off, distracted by the color changes in her aura. There still is that green, but now blue-violet, violet, and lesser colors swirling about her. I can’t tell what those are, though. I can pick some of them out. Like blue-violet, one feels like fear. And the violet is loathing? Doubt? No. It's more of a mix of the two. Then there is a faint flicker of a red one that's annoyance for sure. Ok, she probably is still not wanting to admit she’s wrong about all this paranormal stuff that's been happening. Maybe I'll try again later. I get lost in thought for a while longer when I notice that we have both finished our plates. I also feel weight return to me once again. I bend over and untie my leg from the table. And reach for her empty plate and put it on mine. 

“Jazz, I’m doing the dishes tonight,” I tell her. I want to distract myself from the floating thing. I’m still finding it kinda embarrassing and how she had to pull me by the leg and tie me to furniture again! And, that strange wrongness I’ve been feeling. She doesn’t protest, knowing full well my mind is made up and isn’t changing. I wash our plates and put them on the drying rack. I go to move a cast-iron pot to get at the meatloaf pan underneath when I hear a sizzling sound, and pain shoots through my hands. I drop the pot.

"OUCH!!!" What the actual fuck just happened? That pot is room temperature. Jazz is at my side, almost immediately, and worry written all over her face and aura. Damn, it's so bright.

"Danny! What happened?!" She grabs my still shaking hand and turns them over to see they are really severely burned. I'm completely baffled, and from looking at her, so is she.

“How’d you manage this by washing dishes?!”

“I don’t … “ She cuts me off before I can finish.

“Nevermind … just running your hands under cold water. I’ll be right back … Oh and Danny, try not to burn yourself again.” She sighs as she quickly departs. I go do as I'm told and run my hands under cold water, careful not to touch the pot again. The cool water does feel nice. Jazz returns a little while later. She shuts of the water. 

“Ok, Danny, this is going to sting.” I nod. Then she pours peroxide on my hands and leaving it for a few minutes to foam white, me wincing all the while. 

"Ok, I'm just gonna dab your hands dry and get the burn ointment and bandages on." She grabs a clean towel and very gingerly stipples my hands dry. She then proceeds to tenderly rub the ointment on my hands and neatly wraps them up. 

“Is it on too tight?” I shake my head looking down at my bandaged mitts. 

“I'm going to finish up these dishes. … You just … head upstairs.” I nod and depart.

I reach my room without incident. I throw myself on my bed. I decide to continue reading my comics from earlier and lose myself in issues. I start to feel weary and look up from my current issue only to see it's about half-past eight. Why am I so tired this early? Oh well, I get up to the washroom that joins both Jazz’s and my room. I go in to get ready for bed the best I can with my hands as they are. Just as I'm finishing brushing my teeth and spit, I see a flash of green in the mirror. Wait a minute … I do a double-take, and sure enough, my eyes are that same lifeless green. That can't be right. They're supposed to be blue! I take a few slow solid blinks, and sure enough, my eyes are their usual vibrant icy blue. I sigh with some relief. I walk back into my room and change into some clean PJs and slip into bed. I have difficulty falling asleep due to that strange wrongness that has only been getting worse as the day has progressed. Not to mention my hands are itching me like crazy! Though after an eon tossing and turning, sleep finally takes me.

* BEEP BEEP BEEP *  
“Ouch! What the … “ I bang my head on a slat? Yesterday I woke up over my bed. Today I wake up under my bed. What next, I wake up inside my bed? I shudder at the thought and crawl out from under my bed and hit my alarm. I take off my pajamas, shake them out, and throw them in the hamper, not missing this time. I change into a black NASA t-shirt, a pair of baggy jeans and find a pair of socks that have no holes. I walk into the washroom and decide to check on my hands and maybe change the wrappings. I use my mouth to help me get the bandages off one hand, and with the now free hand, I undo the other. I turn my hands over and definitely, am surprised at what I see. The burns are completely healed over with only slight discoloration to indicate that they even existed in the first place! Well, I don’t need to rewrap these then. Still confused, I wash my face, exit my room, and head downstairs (very cautiously given yesterday) to grab myself a bowl of cereal.

Strange, isn't Jazz usually down by now? I grab myself a bowl and take a while to eat with me thinking about the past three days. When I eventually finish eating, I grab my dishes and the milk carton, intending to take them to the sink and fridge, respectively. Just as I'm almost to the sink, both my hands go all 'tingly.' Shit! Before I can react, both items in my hands slip through, crashing to the floor. I bend over and awkwardly put the carton upright with my still tangible wrists to stop the milk flow. But what about the broken bowl? I can't possibly pick those pieces up with my wrists. So I wait for a while, hoping my hands will become solid again. After a few minutes, they do. And I throw the shattered pieces out, put the milk away, and clean up any remaining mess. I decide to just head back up to my room. Passing by Jazz on the way there, I see that she looks absolutely peeked, and from the light show of conflicting emotions, I can tell she isn't ready to talk just yet. I groan, feel slightly a little more disgruntled. But, continue into my room.  
I just sit on my bed thinking about the last few days some more. The way my body just feels wrong in a way I can't descibe and how it's only getting worse. How I'm getting irritated with Jazz. Why does she not want to talk about any of this at all?! Though, I'm pretty sure it's all that stupid extreme aversion to being wrong. But really? With all the weird shit that has been going on with me, even she must be starting to see that I'm not entirely human anymore. Yeah, with all these slip ups. I'm so lucky mom and dad have been in the lab the whole weekend. But what if they hadn't? What if they saw? I’d be in the lab right now, wouldn't I? Probably strapped to an examination table. That's gonna happen soon. I have no control! They're gonna find out! It's only a matter of time. There's also the possibility that after they're done, if there's anything left of me at that point, sell me off to some scientific institution. My life is over!

* Thwack *  
Getting nailed in the head by something breaks my panic spiral momentarily. I look around to find the culprit to see one of my model rockets zooming around the room with no clear flight pattern. Soon pretty much everything in my room joins it. I manage to duck out of the way from a lamps trajectory and roll off my bed. I crawl under my bed to avoid the onslaught from the tornado of crap and wrap my arms around my head. I stay there for a long while and the stuff only seems to get more sporadic. 

“Danny! Cut out all that … noise?” Jazz opens the door and sees the state of my room. She dives out of the way and drops to the floor to avoid getting hit with my night table. 

“Danny?” she crawls toward me in an army like fashion, slipping under my bed with me.

“What’s going on?” 

“I-I don’t know … shit just started flying around.” My shaking worsens. When did I start shaking?

“Danny breathe. Panicking won’t help the situation.” I just tense even more, barely hearing anything she says.

“Danny, are you with me? Deep breath in … exhale … Deep breath in … exhale …” She keeps calmly repeating this mantra to me till I start to follow. I loosen my arms around my head and let them fall in front of me. Ok, deep breath in … exhale … deep breath in … exhale … I continue this for a few minutes gradually calming down. As I do I hear random objects crashing to the floor. I feel a little better. Jazz and I wait a few minutes before crawling out from under my bed. Man it looks like a tornado passed through here. I motion Jazz to sit on my bed. 

“Jazz, I think we should-AHHHHHHHH!”


	4. Finally some dialogue and … progress?

“Jazz, I think we should-AHHHHHHHH!” I fall to the floor writhing in pain. Jazz is saying something but my brain just can't process it right now. The pain is getting worse. It feels like I'm melting from the inside! My breaths become more labored as my heart beat rapidly slows. I feel my insides shifting around, reforming. Finally after what feels like hours I feel pain beginning to lessen. Light erupts from my middle. I’m pretty sure I know what this means … I'm changing back. The light forms a halo which then divides into two. They repel each other revealing my altered HAZ-MAT suit from Friday.

“… Danny!” Jazz helps me up off the ground. I feel a lot better, and come to think of it that wrongness I'd been feeling these past couple of days seems to have vanished completely. This is both comforting and unnerving. Also, I feel and see Jazz’s emotions a lot more clearly now, and something else too. I don’t know how to describe it, but it's almost as if I can taste them as well now. It's intoxicating. I'm not too sure, this is all very weird. What am I?

“Danny are you alright?”

“I think so…” I lose my balance and fall forward, thankfully just landing on the bed. Jazz gives out a sharp gasp and backs away from me a little. Jazz give me the weirdest look, I've never seen it on her before. 

“ You really are a ghos t! ”  F inally, maybe now we can talk about all … my train of though t trail s  off as I look where her stare was. WHERE THE FUCK DID MY LEGS GO?! In place my legs looks to be some sort of tail.  It is b l ack and so li d just at my belt, but as it reaches the end it gradually tapers off and becomes an almost translucent grey. This foreign ap p end a ge seems to be following movements of a  flagellum.  Apparently, me suddenly having a tail is what breaks Jazz out of her evident denial. Jazz is shaking violently while curled up  into a ball crying into her hands. 

“ My brother’s dead… that stupid portal killed him now he’s haunting us…  what are mom and dad g o nna think and do when they find out he’s dead? …  M y parents were right all along! …  Ghosts really do exist and Danny’s one of them!” She continues sobbing and shaking uncontrollably.  I crawl over to her side of the be d. A s I do I feel my tail split and my legs reform.  Thank the ancients that  it  wasn’t permanent. Huh? Ancients? That not the saying. I try to say the usual saying but for what ever reason I can't. I’ll file that one away for later. It's not important right now.

“Jazz!” No response.

“JAZZ!” Still no response. I start shaking her. She look s up at me and starts crying harder. 

“You have to go home!” She murmurs. What is she …

“What are you talking about?” I’m completely confused. 

“ You don’t belong here, you need to go home!” What is she saying?

“What do you mean I don’t belong? I am home!” I say.

“You’re not Danny! He’s dead! You’re just his ghost! You need to go home! You don’t belong here! It’s not safe for you here!  Go back to the Ghost Zone where you belong!” She turn s away from me unable to look at me. Is she right? Am I just the ghost of Danny Fenton? Should I just take the ghost portal and leave? I don’t know what’s beyond there! How do I know it’s not more dangerous for me there,than it is here? I don’t even know the first thing about being a ghost. But something tell s  me that’s not quite right either. I was able to change back to something that at least resembled my old human self. Ghost s can’t do that can they? I was able to  it on  Friday before I was d i scovered. Maybe I still can now, and possibl y convince Jazz I still belong. I need to change back! Please ancients let me change back!  Out of the blue the light came back. As before, it forms a halo that breaks  in two, travel s in op p osite directions  revealing my human self. I gasp sharply and cough a bit as my previous dormant lungs and motionless heart resume their intended functions.

“Jazz-look-at-me!” Jazz slowly turns her head and sits up unraveling from her p re vious balled form. She wipes the tears from her eyes.  I grab Jaz z’s  hand firmly and place it on my neck.

“ Jazz can you feel that?” She nods.

“I’m not dead Jazz! How can I be dead if I have  a steady pulse?” Even if  it  is a bit slow. But it's a start. It looks like she’s starting to listen.  Good!

“Jazz I know I’m not completely human anymore, but that doesn’t mean I'm completely a ghost either. And even if I am dead, which I am clearly not. Why would it be so bad if I did haunt here? I couldn’t leave you, you’re my best friend and a great sister to boot. And where would I even go in the ghost zone? I don’t know a thing about it. How do we know for sure that it's not more treacherous there than it is here?” I can see Jazz visibly calming down, which is much to my own relief as well. Maybe we can both figure this out together.

“I'm … soo sorry Danny You’re right Danny. You can't possibly be … a ghost. You … have vitals. Ghosts don’t. I've been soo … busy all weekend denying what’s been going on with … you that I almost had myself … convinced that all this was a delusion. I didn’t even … consider what you were going through, not entirely anyway. We know almost … nothing about the ghost zone. What was I thinking? … telling you to go there! Dead or not you’re still my … little brother.” She apologizes still hiccuping from crying so hard. While the blue-violet and purple lights die down the yellow and green lights swell brightly. She reaches over and hugs me tight. I tightly return her embrace. I feel a lot better maybe with Jazz finally talking to me about these issues. But what is this strange wrongness that I feel again? It's not as bad as before, almost not there in fact. But it was completely gone in that other form. I felt … right. I'm not sure I’ll tell Jazz about it just yet. She only just started believing I'm not dead. No need to worry her about that. Though, for everything else I think it will probably be fine.

“ Jazz, I think  I  should talk about all this. Maybe there could be something that could help us make sense of  all this?” I offer.

“ O k let’s start with when I found you shaking under your bed with everything fl ying around your room. What  were you do ing before?” I glance around my room remembering the ordeal. Man this is g on na take a while to clean up.

“I was thinking about what mom and dad would do with me if they ever find out.  I guess I kinda got a bit nervous. Th e n, I got hit  on the head with a model rocket.  S oon after, everything started to fly around and I went under my bed to avoid the onslaught.” Jazz thinks for a while at this.

“ A bit nervous?”  s he crosses her arms.

“Fine. It was complete and utter terror. Why?” I’m not entirely sure what she’s suggesting. 

“Well I was just thinking … what if it was panic in that moment that could have been the cause? Think about it? These abilities, new abilities you have, are ghost like in nature. Ghosts are post-human consciousness and emotions right? So what if these strange powers are connected to your thoughts and emotions?” Ok that definitely explains the tornado of my stuff, but not really anything else. I was relatively calm when those other slip ups happened. Maybe there’s more to this?

“That explains something but not everything else. Like for the most part of my other power fuck-ups. I was mostly at a neutral state of mind. So maybe there’s something else we’re not considering?”

“Hey, Danny just humor me for a sec! I want you to test a theory I have? I need you to think about one of your hands disappearing from view?” I nod. Ok, my hand is invisible. My hand is invisible. I continue this mantra for a good minute, then my hand adopts a cold sensation and quickly fades from view. Jazz smiles.

“See! It's just as I thought, your thoughts and emotions are connected to your powers. But might I add, I’ve noticed over the past few days when you’ve been flustered or irritated, the room gets really cold or the lights flicker. That kinda makes me think that some of your ghostly abilities are connected to your subconscious thoughts and emotions.” That actually makes a lot of sense. Just then I get all weightless and float up to my ceiling and lose my bearings a again.

“Danny, your fine! Just think about falling back down!” I do, and I fall clumsily back down on my bed. 

“See you’re fine!”

“Danny, maybe we should tell mom and dad about this? They might know best on how to help you with this … “ My eyes immediately widen and I start shaking uncontrollably. With my panic building, the room drops several degrees and a light bulb bursts. Objects begin to lift off the ground. I cut her off.

“N-no way! W-we can’t!” Jazz gives me a thoughtful look.

“Ok, how about this? If I can ease them into the idea that not all ghosts are evil and need to be dissected and destroyed. Then, and only then, we’ll tell them! Ok?” She offers. I calm down and the temperature rises and my stuff falls back down. I nod. I think that maybe it will be ok. The chances of them changing their disposition on ghosts is slim to none. Even if we do it will take a long time. So it looks like we’ll be keeping this secret for a while. But how am I gonna keep this a secret when I have no control over these powers? I'm still pretty fucked!

“But this begs the question. If we aren't going to our parents for this, who do we ask?” She’s right there aren’t too many people as well versed in the paranormal sciences as our parents. But they can’t be the only ones right?

“Jazz I was just thinking, mom and dad can't be the only knowledgeable people in the field of paranormal sciences right? Maybe there’s a scap of info online somewhere to help us figure this whole thing out?” I offer. We both whip out our phones and get to searching. We both look for a while yet nothing really seems to fit.

“Hey! Danny I found this paper. It looks like it applies to you, to a “Tee”, it seems incomplete though. Here I sent you the link. Read it. We can discuss it afterwards.” I pull up the link.

_ The Theoretical Existence and Properties of Half-Ghosts _

_ By Dr. Sretsam Rimidalv _

I start skimming through.

_ A half-ghost is a creature that has both human and ghost attributes. It cannot be classified as either a ghost or human. There are few possible ways for such a being to come into existance. _

_ (1) A human and ghost parent can produce a half-ghost(s) _

_ (2) An already existing strong half-ghost that can self-fertilize and yield half-ghost(s). _

_ (3) A human that comes into contact with large amounts of electricity and ectoplasm can have the ectoplasm infused on a molecular level. Making the person a half-ghost. This is the rarest of the three and the process is not likely reversible and could be proven fatal if attempted. _

Well type three definitely fits me. I guess I'm a half-ghost. I’m going to ha ve  to learn to live with it unless I want to risk death.  Great! I continue to the section  _ development  _ _ about  _ _ cores _ .

_ After the birth or creation of a half-ghost. It will likely have difficulty controlling its abilities,  _ _ wh _ _ ile _ _ its ghostly core is still in the process of forming. During this process half-ghosts that have two forms  _ _ ma _ _ y exp _ _ e _ _ r _ _ i _ _ e _ _ nce _ _ depersonalization disorder.  _ _ To  _ _ v _ _ arying _ _ degree _ _ s _ _ in one of the two forms,  _ _ they may _ _ quickly dis _ _ sip _ _ ate when the ind _ _ ivi _ _ dual meta _ _ mo _ _ rph _ _ osizes _ _ its other form. In pure ghost core formation,  _ _ it c _ _ an take anywhere from a year to a decade. It is unknown how long this process take _ _ s  _ _ with half-ghosts.  _ _ Though the core fills the same role as a regular ghost.  _ _ Wh _ _ ich is  _ _ the  _ _ regulation and circulation of  _ _ the  _ _ ectoplasm within a ghost. With a secondary function of being the seat, of thoughts and logic for the ghost. It is also key for communication between ghosts forming a sort of primordial language from frequencies. There is still much to be d _ _ i _ _ scovered about ghost cores given limited observation and a cores rapid deter _ _ io _ _ ration when remove _ _ d _ _ from ghosts. _

So it's not just thoughts and feelings that are affecting  my powers? And depersonalization disorder, what’s that? I open up a new tab and briefly start reading about it. It perfectly fits that ‘wrongness’ I’ve been feeling. So at least this feeling isn’t going to be permanent.  T hat’s good. I close the tab and go back to the paper. The next pas s age looks really interesting.  _ Common attr _ _ i _ _ butes and  _ _ abilities of half-ghosts _ .

_Like any ghost, half-ghosts have a pleth_ _o_ _ra of possible abilities_ _which_ _are deeply rooted in its thought_ _s an_ _d emotions_ _. Abilities present across any ghost include:_

_ (1) Invisibility – Not being detected across the light spectrum. _

_ (2) Intangibility – Able to pass through solid objects. _

_ (3) Flight – being mostly comprised of ectoplasmic material which in itself is light by nature and can defy gravity when energized by a core. _

_ (4) Body Manipulation – a ghost can bend and deform its body to varying degrees. This ability is primarily a defensive one but may be further developed to allow certain ghosts to obtain shape-shifting abilities. _

_ (5) Accelerated Healing – quick recovery from grievous wounds. _

_ (6) Empathic Sense – allows ghosts to ‘see’ and feel human emotions as a range of colors, varying in brightness depending on intesity of the emotion surrounding a human. _

_ (7) Ectoplasmic Ray – is a destructive blast of ectoplasm. _

_ There are less common abilities among ghosts that may include: _

_ mind-control – a ghost can impose its will on others. _

_ Elemental Manipulation – complete control of one or more of the basic elements. _

_ Teleportation – transporting from one place to another even across dimensions in an instant. _

_ Duplication – able to create temporary copies of itself. The only drawback is that all the duplicates share the same consciousness with the original. This limits their ability regardless of the ghost’s latent power level. _

_ Oneirokinesis –  M a nip ul ation of dreams _

_ Energy Absorption – able to consume different forms of energy. _

_ If the ghost is strong enough it can develop completely unique abilities. This though is exceedingly rare because few ghosts can reach the power level needed. _

Damn some of that stuff sounds pretty cool! I wonder if I’ll be able to do some of that later on? Ok next section.  Eating habits of a half-ghost

_ Half-ghosts being in part human, can consume any human food. Half-ghosts also being part ghost can also gain sustenance like any other ghost as well. _

_ (1) Passiv el y  A bsorbing  Ec toplasm from the ghosts zone  or eating it from hunting lesser ghosts . _

_ (2) Feeding on human emotional energy they use their empathic sense to seek out strong emotions,  the neg a tive ones being more satiating . Half-ghosts can also feed off the emotions their human half generates. _

_ (3) Half-ghosts may or may not develop a ghostly obsession. Fulfilling this obsession not only fuels the ghost but also stimulates development in its core. _

_ This creature must have both it's human and ghostly dietary needs met or it can suffer core destabilization and death.  _

I'm not to sure how I feel about the second method and the second part of the first. But it definately explains what all those colors I've been seeing and feeling around Jazz. 

_ The unique physiology of half-ghosts gives them a _ _ n  _ _ immunity to a wide range of  _ _ vulnerab _ _ il _ _ ities that effect full ghosts _ _ .  _ _ How _ _ ever, _ _ there are still a few that still  _ _ ef _ _ fect them. _

_(1) Iron – in its pure form can repel ectoplasm which can sear its skin._

_ (2) Sanguinem Germinabunt or more commonly knowns as Blood Blossoms – have compounds that neutralize ectoplasm that are both active in the plants flowers and gases it produces. Long term exposure will cause a painful expiration in the half-ghosts. _

_ (3) Overexertion – in half-ghosts with two forms this can cause it to be forcefully reverted back to its human form. _

Well that certainly explains the room temperature pot burning my hands yesterday. Note to sel: Place iron under the must avoid list. Huh?

The article just ends here.  I guess that  Sretsam Rimidalv  guy never finish ed his work?  I look back up at Jazz.  Who is no doubt  looking at ghost related things.

“ Hey Jazz, I got through that paper.  It was really informative.” Jazz looks up from her phone.

“So how much of that paper do you think applies to you?”

“I’d say pretty much all of it.”  I look around the room again and start putting things back in their places.  She flickers a bright yellow-green in awe.

“Even the  depersonalization  thing? Which form?” I was kinda hoping she didn’t bring that part up. I groan.

**“ Yeah, it seems to get worse the longer I'm in this human form. And before you ask, ** N o it’s totally gone in the other.” I have a bit of an edge in my voice. I really hate that I feel completely wrong in my human form and not the other. It should be the ghostly one. It  isn't even natural. I don’t understand.

“ Do you have that empathic sense also?” I blush a  bit. Figures she wants to d is cuss the psychological aspects of this. Oh well. I nod.

**“ Really what’s it like? What do I look like to you?” **

“It's kinda hard to explain …” I think for a good minute before continuing. Jazz looks at me with intensity.

“I feel your emotion radiating off you. Almost … and, taste I guess, is the closest word … them coming off you as well. As for what you look like ,it's actually quite beautiful. There is usually a main few colors that pulsate and shift around. Right now, it's mainly various shades of greens with some yellow swirling around. But there’s also other colors that sorta flicker in and out. Currently, those seem to be red, blues, and purples. Also it seems the stronger the emotion the brighter the color. The neg… “ I cut myself off. I don’t want to tell her that last part. How absolutely exquisite her terror and negative emotions are and how I want more. I feel thoroughly disgusted with myself just thinking about it. She looks up at me.

“You were saying?” Jazz prompts.

“I lost my train of thought I'm sure it will come back later.” I lie. There’s a brief dim flicker of red.  Jazz glances over at the clock. I soon do the same. Shit!  I t's already 7:30 pm. D amn the day w ent by fast.

“Where did the time go? We’ll talk more about this later. How’s some mac n’ cheese sound?”

“ T hat actually sounds pretty good.” We both head down.

Jazz pulls out that cast-iron pot from yesterday and I shutter. She pours and boils the water. Jazz comes over to the table to sit next to me and puts her hand on my shoulder and gives me a warm smile.

“Don’t worry little brother, we’ll figure this out. I’ll make sure everything turns out alright.”  with that she hugs me. I really needed to hear that. I feel better, almost content. Just then there’s a strong vibration and purring sound coming deep within my chest.  Just thinking I know what it is.  And for the first time since Friday I don’t feel like my life  is over. Jazz lets go with a confused look on her face.

“Danny what’s that sound and vibration?” I smile and laugh light-heartedly.

“It’s my core. It feels happy and rejuvenated. I really needed to hear that. So thanks.” I continue to grin as the confusion and worry melts from her face.

“ Any time little brother.” Jazz ruffles my hair and returns to the stove. She pours  pasta in  the pot a nd revisits the table.

“Ya’know I tried looking up that guy from the paper. To see if he had any related works or where to contact him… and there was absolutely nothing. The man is a ghost. No digital footprint whatsoever.” she groans. 

“ That’s strange!  T ruly nothing at all?” She shakes her head.

“Well at least that paper had some useful information to help us make better sense of all of this. Even if it was incomplete,” she sighs and nods. Abruptly the water starts boiling over. 

“Jazz the pot!”  S he runs over to the stove and cuts the flame. Then strains the water.  She then  pours  the cheese packet in and mix es  it in with some milk. Jazz then divid es our meal into two bowls and returns to the table set ting our bowls down on our place mats.

“So I was thinking after school tomorrow, that we  will try to  get you to practice with your powers. Maybe trying some exer c i s es to help. We will do this daily till you get the hang of it.  Ok? ”  I nod. Fuck I completely forgot about school!  With  a  brief flare of dread I go intangible for an instant and fall through my chair landing flat on my back with a grunt. Jazz jumps out of her chair and over to me.

“Danny! Are you alright?” she helps me up and back in my chair before returning to hers.

“Yeah I'm fine. Just nervous and unsure about school tomorrow. I think that’s why I fell through my chair just now.” I chuckle nervously and rub the back of my neck.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of this eventually!” Jazz gives me a gentle smile and I smile back at her.

We finish eating  and Jazz takes our plates to the sink. I motion to help her,  but she stops me.

“ I t's fine ,  I'll do the dishes.  I know you can't touch this pot.  I don’t ever want  a repeat of yesterday.  Just head on up ok? ”  I nod. I'm glad to not be touching that pot again. I head on upstairs.

I'm in my room, Spending the next half hour cleaning up the remainder of the mess from earlier today. I do my standard bed routine. I yawn and crawl into bed hoping tomorrow will be better, while I struggle to fall asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of 2021. This chapter feels longer than the others. 3840, yep definitely. I gotta say this chapter really frustrated me. I was trying to introduce some minor AU rules in this chapter and was annoyed that some of it sounds like a lengthy anime explanation. I was gonna end this chapter in several places but just wasn’t satisfied. I wonder how many of you got the foreboding Easter egg that’s nestled in here a few times.


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